Who asked him to play Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 1595 Crisis Within the Castle!
In fact, among the characters in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! story, Katsuya Jonouchi is somewhat similar to Seto Kaiba.

Kaiba starts out as an orphan with a younger brother, while Jonouchi starts out as an orphan with a younger sister after his parents divorce. Later, Kaiba encounters Gosaburo Kaiba, who is nominally his adoptive father but is actually almost a devil, while Jonouchi has a father who is nominally with him but is actually a useless old gambler.

Similar beginnings. The one who supported Kaiba all the way to the point of usurping the throne was his only relative, Keihei, while the one who supported Jonouchi, an innocent boy, was thrown into the cruel vortex of society, and the one who supported him to stand up was his only sister, Shizuka.

Despite similar starts, their growth has been quite different.

His cruel childhood taught Kaiba that power was everything he could believe in, and that he would stop at nothing to gain wealth and power. In the end, he won, forcing Gosaburo to his death and becoming the victor.

But it was precisely this upbringing that instilled in him a philosophy of life that made Kaiba someone who "can't live without enemies." This is why he later became so obsessed with the Yami Yugi (underworld games), even going so far as to dig up graves and go to the underworld to play cards.

But Jonouchi is different. Jonouchi is the kind of person who, even when whipped by reality, betrayed, and with a broken family, is still willing to believe and start new bonds.

He often took the initiative to mediate among his friends. Perhaps it was because of the lack of strong bonds in his childhood that he cherished hard-won friendships more than most people. Therefore, he was the kind of passionate young man who would go to great lengths for his friends without considering the consequences.

Without hesitation, he jumped into the sea when Exodia was thrown into the game; he retrieved the Millennium Puzzle from the fire for Yugi; he stood up for Mai the Peacock, shielding her from the divine power of the sun god; and he challenged Malik to a death duel in the Dark.
Having gone through all of this, he fought on with his mortal body, fighting to the very end for his most important comrades.

Even at the very end, during the battle ceremony, when everyone begged Yami Yugi not to leave, only Jonouchi smiled and said, "Although you are the king, you are still Yugi. Even after a thousand years, we will still be partners!"

"Do you think it took Katsuya Honjouchi to get to where he is today? Such petty tricks won't work on me!"

He shouted from within the city.

Kujo Mahiru sighed: "Well, it's amazing that you have to go to such lengths for just a mortal. Your willpower is truly astonishing. Oh well, whatever."

Kujo revealed his Duel Disk and squinted his eyes.

"Although it's a little more troublesome than I expected, I'll settle it with a duel."

"A duel? That suits me perfectly!" Jonouchi said. "Let me duel one of the city's top four contestants as your opponent!"

However, upon hearing this title, Kujo was not intimidated at all; instead, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Top four in Duel City, in your opinion, that's probably an amazing and glorious title, right?" Kujo Mahiru chuckled. "Well, after all, they are the best among the cavemen."

Jonouchi frowned: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

“It’s nothing. Let’s go then,” Kujo said. “I’ll show you the power of our academy, and what a real duel is!”

"Duel!" x2
[Within the city, LP4000]

【Kujo Mahiru, LP4000】

"Then I'll start the attack from my side: draw cards!"

Jonouchi drew a card, carefully examined his starting hand, and then cautiously assessed his opponent.

Although he didn't know who the other party was or what they were saying, Jonouchi could sense one thing: this opponent seemed to be extraordinary.

“Then I’ll give it my all!” Jonouchi said. “I’ll activate the Ritual Spell ‘Descent of the Black Dragon’ from my hand!”
This card can be Ritual Summoned from your hand by Tributing monsters with a combined Level of 4 or higher from your hand or field!

Jonouchi then revealed another monster card from his hand and sent it to the Graveyard: "I send Level 4 'Iron Knight Gia-Fried' from my hand to the Graveyard, Ritual Summon! Descend——Black Dragon Paladin!!!"

An altar appeared in the city's inner field, and jet-black flames were ignited one after another, forming a circle around the sacrificial array. Black flames shot into the sky from the center of the array, briefly twisting in the air into the shape of a burning black dragon. Then the flames dissipated, and a human figure appeared from within the burning dragon, riding a black dragon, wielding a black blade, and the cold light reflected on the armor.

[Black Dragon Paladin, Attack Power 1900]

“Following up the monster effect of Black Dragon Paladin!” Jonouchi said, “By tribute this card, we can Special Summon a ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’ from our hand or Deck!”
I transformed directly into a Red-Eyes Black Dragon using the Black Dragon Paladin!!!

The knight swung his longsword, and a spiral of black flames enveloped both the black dragon and the knight, sending them soaring into the sky as a sacrifice. The black dragon's wings cleaved through the curtain of black flames, its eyes gleaming with a dark crimson light, and it spewed black flames from its mouth.

[Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Attack Power 2400]

"Summoning the Red-Eyes Black Dragon right off the bat, that's impressive." Kujo sneered.

"Heh, it's too late to be scared now! That's right, this is my ace, Red-Eyes!" Jonouchi said. "After Duel City, I've evolved even further, dealing with a nobody like you is a piece of cake!"

"Evolution?"

Kujo Mahiru's expression became even stranger, as if she had heard something extremely ridiculous.

"What a strange guy. But anyway, it's good that I won the duel." Jonouchi inserted all the remaining cards in his hand into the back row slot in one go. "Three cards face down, end of turn!"

Three face-down cards appeared in his backcourt, signaling the end of the first round.

"Is it over? Then it's my turn," Kujo said in a deep voice. "And this will be the last turn of your life!"

Jonouchi: "What?"

"My turn, draw a card!"

Kujo Mahiru draws a card and then places a monster card from her hand directly onto the Duel Disk.

"This card can be Special Summoned directly from your hand if your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters!"

I Special Summon 'Saint Chrono Dragon - Tefnus'!

The pure white dragon, covered in golden armor, possessed an angelic aura and descended in a halo.

【Sacred Dragon - Tefnu Dragon, Attack Power 2100】

“Saint Chronicle?” Jonouchi said. “Never heard of it, but it seems to be a dragon clan.”

Jonouchi smiled.

"Hey, when it comes to dragons, my Red-Eyes Black Dragon won't lose to anyone!"

(End of this chapter)